colequigs

Hey guys, I know I don't have a cobalt but was hoping you could help me. I'm wanting to swap the 2.0 LSJ motor and 5-speed manual transmission into my malibu for the LE5 and my automatic 4-speed. I was wondering if you guys could give me some input as to what it will take, how difficult it will be, and what components its going to take to complete it. My friend has the motor, tranny, ecu, wiring, and all the tranny shift linkage and will sell it to me cheap if i want to try to swap it so if you could help, i would really appreciate it. Thanks for any help!!

HyperMuffin

You would probably be better off just supercharging or turbocharging your 2.4 or sell your malibu and buy an SS. That swap would probably be more difficult than you think.

If you were already a manual it probably wouldn't be as bad, but being an automatic is what's going to make it tough.

colequigs

Yeah i know what you mean, but I'm the kinda person who likes to stand out and have something completely custom, which this would definitely be one of a kind. i'm gonna do it, i just want some input to see what all parts i'm gonna need and everything required to make it happen. that would be quite a bit easier though lol

BankerBalt

i think one of a kind would be to turbo it... but that's just me. building a motor instead of swapping is definitely gonna be easier and probably more cost effective... i understand uniqueness but also, you gotta ask yourself... how many supercharged/turbocharged malibu 2.4's are there? probably not many...

06_ion2

Are these motors identical to the 2.4 ions and balts?

PenguinPIE

iTrader: (5)

I've never seen any LSJ swapped in a base cobalt let alone Malibu. It will be very difficult.

tmazSS

iTrader: (9)

umm ya... lot of work... look into ur motor mount locations, ecu management, setting up clutch pedal and master cylinder, setting up axles to the existing hubs... and fitting it all in an organized fashion....

shud be an easy weekend job for someone with no lift or previous cobalt knowledge lol but itll def be one of a kind wen u finish... in a couple years

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

it can be done, just not easily. hell, i put a turbocharged l61 2.2l ecotec into a 1990 sunbird convertable, everyone told me that was impossible. what i learned is the more things change, the more gm doesnt change that much.

the front motor mount will bolt up. now, did the malibu come with a manual trans option in that year? if so, itll be the f23, so im sure the front and rear trans mounts would be in the same location. the drivers side upper mount could be an issue, without comparing the 2 cars its hard for me to say. people have used g6 steering knuckles on a cobalt, cant remember if the hubs interchange. if they do, lsj axles will fit into the splines, however length is going to be an issue as the malibu is wider. in my digging around on the f40 6 speed i found they use the same spline in the diff as an f35, so in theory you should be able to use g6 gxp axles. other stuff should bolt up, exhaust, rad hoses, fuel lines. in theory the wiring should all plug in from the 2.4 harness however your going to have to get creative in the tuning. all the vvt stuff will have to be removes, along with the auto trans stuff, and everything will have to be re-mapped.

yes it can be done, it shouldnt be all that hard. however your talking 2 swaps here, auto to manual and 2.4 to lsj. myself, i say supercharge the 2.4l and keep it auto. many people have swapped the blower parts onto the 2.4l in cobalts, it bolts right on and does work well.

tmazSS

iTrader: (9)

^^^ theres some good info

gtftw

I honestly dont see how it could be very expensive if he can get everything off the cobalt for under 2000 dollars..in my opinion building a motor is just a much scarier than swapping and doing something custom and arent the chasis the same between the cobalt and malibu so you could use all the malibu mounts and swap the lsj in? Only thing i can see being a problem is the ecu and wiring and if he can get that with purchase of the motor i dont see the difficulty level that high..in my opinion if you have any mechanical knowledge i see a 40 hour job at tops but thats just me..i also see where he is coming from wanting to swap so he can keep the stock engine if he ever wants to take it to stock and uniqueness is a big deal to..everybody builds cobalts and hondas and mustangs and camaros..well back in the day the malibu use to be a buildable car and now its become an economy car and maybe he wants to try and bring that muscle back..



also negative posts and unhelpful opinions arent probably very useful so why dont we keep them to ourselves

cmatthewb101

iTrader: (4)

I think there's alot more to look at then will it just bolt up. Entire wiring harness. Will that even work? The ECU? Will a custom fab intake even go where it will need to. Going to re run lines for fluids, cause the malibu has them mounted in different places. Or can you just move and remount. Alot of questions. Might have to custom fab some parts. It'll be more difficult then just a simple swap. It's more work then people want to do with just 2 Cobalts. Let alone 2 different cars. Sub'd for sure though

zfissette

iTrader: (5)

if i were you i would be looking at keeping the automatic, the malibu is a much heavier car than a cobalt, the lsj clutch would take a beating trying to move the extra thousand pounds under full throttle. if you stick with your stock trans this becomes a very easy swap. you have a complete take off kit on the other motor, swap over all her accessories including blower and buy a fmhe then tune her up. to be honest im suprised to have not seen this already, there are a ton of hhrs running the lsj take off kits.

tylerjclance

iTrader: (7)

It would probably be easier, and cheaper, to just build the motor and throw some boost at it.
Or you can tell people you have a "cobalt" engine in your Malibu..
I'm not so sure about that.

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

no there isent their isent as many asa you think

zfissette

iTrader: (5)

maybe not as many as i think but ive seen pics of ten of them side by side with the m62 under their open hoods.

sLAsh

iTrader: (2)

Coppertop has one in a Fiero. Gotta be easier than that
Coppertop Autosports: 85 Fiero GT "Fierion" buildup

It's all the little things that eat up a ton of time. I remember helping a friend put a Buick engine in his Lemans just cause he got the Buick for free. He would have been better off selling the Buick engine and buying a Pontiac one. You're in a similar boat. Sure you can do it if you want bragging rights but at the end of the day you are spending a lot of time just to be different. If you want to spend that much time why not just convert a Balt to RWD

07BoostedG5

iTrader: (12)

I have seen a lsj to lnf swap...and honestly just looking at it, it really doesent seem bad, it would be more of an issue finding a wrecked parts car for cheap, the more time I spend under these cars the more I see possible, if you were to un bolt the whole k member motor, knuckles everything and swap it in, that looks "easy" it would then be a matter of gutting everything inside wiring wise and all and swapping it. Alot of work, would be a fun project, worth it? debatable. But I dont see why not. but as far as the op goes into a different car, I have no clue, balt to balt sound very feasible, but once again is it worth it and can you get a wrecked car for less then the price of a built motor,trans, turbo kit etc etc. its a fun thought I will say.

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

swapping a lsj to lnf is going backwards just turbo swap the lsj then you are way ahead of the lnf

mrbelvedere

iTrader: (3)

considering that gm put buick and olds engines in ponchos and so fourth that wouldent be very hard to do at all

royce777

iTrader: (29)

there was guy on here trying to sell one. it was an 06 base coupe shell with all 07 ss/sc partsd swapped over.


i was inches of away from buying a wrecked lnf to swap into my g5 but i realized that i drive a g5

Sharkey

iTrader: (1)

not providing you get all the parts. engine mount brackets are different between all the brands. buick olds and pontiac share a bellhousing bolt pattern, chevy and caddy use their own. its all the little stuff that takes time in a v8 swap between brands.

Leafydialupking

iTrader: (1)

Just take the blower off your friends lsj and put it on you 2.4. Every thing bolts up, just nned to re-wire the throttle connector to use the lsj tb and get a tune. Then sell all the rest of the lsj stuff and be close to pulling a profit.

07BoostedG5

iTrader: (12)

Right cause the lsj has all those nice tables and direct injection etc etc, its not a matter of the turbo, The lnf is a overall better motor.

Bika

iTrader: (3)

Unless the malibu has a cooked engine/transmission, why ruin a perfectly good vehicle by doing a swap that will require hacking apart most of the front end?

the modern malibus never had the option for a manual transmission. you will have to one-off fabricate the clutch assembly and shift linkage through the firewall. the gauge cluster will not mate up to the new harness which will be required so you have to somehow hack in an LSJ instrument panel as well.

Don't start the lsj VS lnf debate either... I will lock this ****

IonNinja

What gains are you hoping to get by swapping to an LSJ motor?